Not much going on today, oh except it’s the wife’s birthday. Part of the celebration includes taking in the new Star Trek movie, for better or worse (I’ll let you know tomorrow).

In the mean time, here are a few China-related items I’ve been reading/following.

China earthquake, a year later

NPR’s Melissa Block is in Sichuan, China, this week reporting on the recovery efforts that are taking place a year after the earthquake that devastated the region. It’s interesting to compare and contrast the efforts and people’s reactions in the aftermath of this disaster and something closer to home, like Katrina.

Is China rich or poor?

An interesting read from BBC News examining the division between the rich and poor in China and how it impacts each’s view of China’s role on the world stage.

Hey, we were there …

I was reading the CNN.com story about the hotel in Hong Kong that was quarantined for swine flu when I came across this part:

The city is trying to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2003, when a doctor from nearby Guangzhou came to the Hong Kong to attend a wedding. During his one-night stay the doctor, who had been treating patients with an unusual respiratory ailment, fell ill himself. He infected at least 10 other guests, according to Hong Kong University research. Those guests then spread SARS to the rest of world.

That hotel? The Metropark Hotel in Kowloon.

Hey, that’s the hotel we stayed at earlier this year while we were wrapping up our trip to China. And now its sister hotel is under quarantine. Talk about bad luck, and it’s not even something the hotel has any control over. Of course, it also probably means the Metropark hotels in Hong Kong are going to be offering some specials to draw travelers back. The one Kowloon was pretty nice, the leopard-print carpeting notwithstanding. Now I can say I stayed at ground zero for an epidemic. How many of you can make that claim?